Forest dept to promote human-elephant coexistence
To mitigate human-elephant conflicts, the forest department has planned to organise a 'Hati-Bandhu Mela,' a festival dedicated to elephants, aimed at raising awareness among the public.
Seventeen houses were damaged in different areas of the Hills, even as incessant rainfall paralysed normal life in Siliguri in the plains today. Weathermen, however, said the intensity of the rainfall will decrease from tomorrow.
Life came to a virtual halt in the town in the morning, until the showers ceased during the later part of the day. People were seen wading through ankle-deep water at many places in the town that received 80 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
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Commuters had a harrowing time, while most residents were forced keep themselves indoors in Siliguri, and vehicular traffic was disrupted.
The town has, along with some other districts of north Bengal, experienced heavy to very heavy rainfall with intense spell of lightning and thunderstorm in the past few days.
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“The intensity of the rain is likely to be less from Tuesday. However, there may be heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places of north Bengal for the next few days,” said the Director of the State Meteorological Centre, Sikkim, Indian Meteorological Department, Dr Gopi Nath Raha.
The water level in the Mahananda river, mwanwhile, rose to 114.100 meters, according to the reading at 6 pm, said officials of the irrigation and waterways department.
The danger level is 115.975 meters. In the Hills, Maneydara and Pubong gram panchayat (GP) under the Rangli Rangliot block, Mahanadi GP under Kurseong block, Dumaram, Dowhill, Sherpa Busty, Victoria under Kurseong Municipality, Gorabari, Margarets Hope, Lower Sonada GP, and Pokhriabung-II GP under Jorebunglow Sukhiapokhri were affected by the heavy rainfall, where around 17 houses were damaged, it is learnt.
Administrative sources said 11 persons of three families have taken shelter in Kurseong and Sukhia blocks.
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